We focus on current ART as we travel around the United States and abroad. Art to us includes investigating the people, the food, the drink and the community surroundings to tap into the real pulse. Travel fans follow us as we go #ARTING About...? for adventure.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

I just posted the first video shot from my unfamiliar new friend the Canon 550D. We tussled the first time out. And the second as well. I will be posting that video on Friday. I scheduled a third shoot for tomorrow morning and I feel so much more comfortable and ready for the shoot. I know I will be able to capture some exceptional footage because, well first, I feel much more comfortable how the camera works--which I will discuss next. And, because the footage that I caught earlier, fumbling about the Mode Dial, Shutter button, Quick Control button, Aperture Exposure compensation button, and the AF point selection and FE lock buttons, still came out pretty darn nice. I feel this shoot tomorrow will be more in my control and less in the camera's (which by the way probably isn't bad, but I really just want to run this puppy manually and make it do what I want instead of the other way around) and like Tim Tebow--be "Excited" to see what my teammate has up its sleeve!
The biggest struggle is learning what options I have available to me when I am filming. The camera at its most flexible allows complete control over all elements: shutter speed, aperture etc., and will allow you to fly cruise control on Full Auto if you just want to "frame and shoot." But as you swing into what the Canon nomenclature calls the Mode Dial and choose either the five Creative Zones (P,Tv,Av,M,A-Dep) or the Basic Zones (Full Auto, CA, Flash off, Portrait, Landscape, Close up, Sports, Night Portrait) or the Movie Shooting Zone depending on what mode and what zone you choose effects your options to adjust those modes or zones. An example may help. In the "M" zone you are shooting manually. You want to adjust AF (Automatic Focus Point) which helps in creating depth of field, you can choose one of the nine points that the camera shows in the eye piece or LCD Monitor (nine square points arranged in a diamond pattern with a larger square point in the center). You can move the focus about the diamond to draw attention (focus) on a particular point in the framed image. When you get this camera you really need to play with this particular element. It will truly help you create interesting photographs because you can adjust depth of field and play with the direction of focus you want for the photograph. I like slight-of-hand. What I mean is I like the idea, in a photograph, of "mis-directing" the viewer. Messing with their perception. I want them to feel like they are suppose to look at a particular point in the photograph, but they feel a deep tug that their attention should be elsewhere and that is the journey for my viewer...find the elsewhere.
I love that about the 550D. BUT in Movie Shooting mode, you don't get all that. I thought, prior to my first date out with the 550D that I understood what options where available in the mode I chose. Nope. Not as fully as I thought. What I know I CAN'T do with my new friend: I can't use AF like I hoped. I hoped to use it as if it was like a full on "video recorder" using the Tight and Wide toggle button zooming and going wide and panning and focusing with much more fluidity. No Fluidity here. If you are going to do a pan and want to move from an object that is a different distance from the Focal Plane mark on the camera (see the index in the back of the manual for location on the camera) you are going to have to pull distance and mark your lens or write it down and then practice the move to pull focus without getting it blurred. Also, you have to shut off the lens's AF (Automatic Focus) switch. Move it to MF (Manual Focus). Why you ask? Because if you leave it in AF when you pull focus by hand, you can hear (and feel) the lens movement. The noise is picked up in the on-board microphone. If you move the switch to MF you can adjust the lens for depth and focus without making any noise. Unfortunately it is really difficult to do smoothly, so make sure you practice before you go to do your movie filming. Another thing regarding noise. In Movie Filming mode if you touch any buttons, move any dial, use the Shutter button to refocus you will hear it in the filming. So take that into consideration for editing purposes. If you adjust make sure you realize the tape you are currently shooting will have audio issues that will need to be address in editing. You can compensate by "running" tape and doing a "pick-up."
Another nice option is the WB (White Balance) selection. You can toggle through a number of choices from AWB (Automatic White Balance) to Tungsten light, Day light, Florescent and so forth. In the Movie Filming mode you can set it to Custom which allows you to set your own. Also in Movie Filming mode you can set the ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and a few other nifty Exposure settings that will allow you optimum opportunities to secure a decent shot if you are filming in low light. Most of the pieces I am shooting are in "available" light. I don't bring any gear other then a flash. I may do that eventually, but because my Web Cast show "ARTing About...?" is geared around a loose "documentary/interview" style piece I don't want to loose spontaneity by having to spend time lugging about stuff. This camera so far seems to be able to handle that job and the more I get to know my new friend, the better we will interact. I believe I have solved the issues that interfered in my first two shoots.
So, I am all set for the shoot tomorrow morning. Have some of the basic presets for what I want the image to look like, set in the camera's memory. I got my shot-list. Played out in my head what it is I am trying to catch. Checked all my stock. I got my 24 gigs of memory chips ready. AAA-batteries for the microphone--fresh and new. Charged up the batteries. and packed a couple of Cliff Bars. The shoot is early. I am heading to bed soon to get rested. Think I am ready. Come on little Canon 550D. Time for bed, we have work to do tomorrow.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Dear Friends. It has been just over a week since my last blog. Working feverishly on this piece about Stained Glass artist Christie Andresen. Christie is the owner of Taqwa Glassworks Studio and Gallery located in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. This is the opening episode of my Web Show Cast called "ARTing About...?" I travel all over the east and west coast looking for talented individuals creating all types of art. My interest is in how each artist approaches the process of the work they are creating AND more important, what they are doing to sell their work. I want to see how artists blend business to make a living in a field that is notorious for creating "starving" artists. Enough of that I say, artists need to eat too! So, together, lets find out how they do it.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Oh My! It's been days since I have plied my craft and tinkled with thoughts here in the blogging world.

I have been upgrading. Yes, computers. Well my life too, as you know.

I edited the two interviews I told you about last week. Christie Andresen and Bryan Randa, artists in stain and blown glass, were both fascinating and completely different in their energies and artistic approach. I was only planning on producing a 7 minute segment on each. But both artists were so open and willing to discuss their art, process and struggles doing business the amount of great "film" left on the cutting room floor (my kitchen, or living room, or local coffee shop, wherever I have the muse to edit) was just too significant. So I decided to put together half-hour shows. Well this takes a bit more time then I had initially determined for the 7 minute pieces. Normally it wouldn't have taken much more time. Especially because the interesting conversation. But, I, your humble man behind the blog, made a critical error. Dare I tell you I made a technical snafu? I am going to tell you only because, as part of my Regeneration and Transformation for Dreamers, and our travel with Me and My Canon 550D AND because we are kicking off the "ARTing About..." web cast series--I must confess so YOU, my dear friends, to keep you from making the same mistake when you get your Canon 550D.

Okay, so here it is. The Canon 550D is a HD camera which allows you to shoot RAW HD, RAW HD+JPEG, and you can shoot in 24 fps to create a cinematic look. On my laptop, I edit with Adobe Pro. I assumed (okay, we know already why I messed up) that Adobe could handle the HD. It can. But, what Canon informed me (after hours of me trying to solve the problems I was having) I needed at least 2.6 GHz to handle the HD editing. Ugh. How did I miss that in my initial research? So, now I have two Toshiba's--both purchased over a year and a half ago--looking at me wondering why I am asking them to do "big boy" stuff. Damn HD! It's a love hate relationship.

So, yup, I have been shopping for a new computer and I think I have found it. (Now before you get any further, if you are not a techie--skip this paragraph!) It is an all-American made computer. Does America make anything anymore? I read all 58 reviews on the product. Yes I did! I will give you the specifics and you tell me what you think? Well, I think I am going to buy it, but tell me if I am really nuts. For $800.00 for the CPU only I get: 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2600 (3.40 GHz) processor, Intel H67 Chipset, 16GB DDR3 Memory (4 slots, 32gb max). The Drives: 2tb SATA II hard drive, 12xBlu-ray Rewritable Drive: Read and Write CDs/DVDS/Blue-ray Discs, Front Panel 19 in 1 multimedia card reader. GRAPHICS: Integrated Intel HD Graphics (dual monitor capable). COMMUNICATIONS: 10/100/1000 mb/s gigabit lan. AUDIO: Flexible 8-Channel audio with jack sensing. EXPANDABILITY: tons! PORTS: DVI, HDMI, 2xUSB 3.0 (rear), 6xUSB 2.0 (2 front, 4 rear). OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Home Premium, 64 bit. Whew! that's a lot of technical mombojumbo.

I am thinking WOW, that's a darn good deal. Reviews for the most part are extremely positive. I sent a link to my son, who is a techie demigod, to check out the specs. Unfortunately, I have to order and wait a few days for it. Which means, getting to my very original point five paragraphs ago, I can't finish my editing until I get my new toy. Don't go yet, one more thing I found to be very interesting and I know you want to, and need to know.

For some reason Windows Live Movie Maker was able to handle and edit the HD from the Canon 550D. This past week I cut both the Christie Andresen and Bryan Randa pieces--30 minutes each. They are very professional and have all the titling etc. But, unfortunately the program has limited capabilities. It only has one timeline. You can't manipulate the audio. You can't lay down an audio track on top of an image separately. I could launch both videos now and be happy. Or I can wait and really show you the beauty of the work both artist create.

You have been so patient. You deserve a treat. I am placing a couple pictures below to prime your appetite.

So, lets review. I don't want any of you potential Canon buyers to make my mistake. You need a big boy processor to deal with this HD stuff with a editing program that gives you max flexibility. BUT, if you want basic movies the Windows Live Movie Maker kicks fanny. I actually liked it--except it has no flexibility. But that's why you have to spend the big bucks....come on all you potential sponsors hit me up!!!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

This afternoon I do the second of four interviews with artists that work with glass. Today I film and interview Bryan Randa, Glass Artist from Cataumet, Cape Cod, MA. You can check out Bryan's work at www.randaglass.com. I initially ran into Bryan's work at a coffee shop called the Dailey Brew. A neighborhood enclave that serves up great food and atmosphere and wi-fi too! I was grabbing a cup of joe, and on a merchandise rack was some small glass ornaments. One was a turtle. I loved the intricacy of the work. I immediately wanted him to make me a sand dollar--my wife and I love to go to Pismo Beach and there are sand dollars, placed like golden tickets, along the sea shore and we stroll and enjoy the search, sea, and sense of serenity. I thought just by looking at Bryan's work, he could capture that delicacy for me. So I queried the barista for the artist's info and two days before Christmas I called Bryan and left a message asking if he had time to do a sand dollar before Christmas. He called back that same day, but I missed his call. I didn't realize that he had called until after Christmas. Bryan's message stated that he COULD get the item done in time. I thought to myself, I have to meet this guy!

I am eager to see Bryan's workshop and studio. I am always fascinated how artists "birth" their creations. Process, structure, inspiration, technique...how do these elements play in the "conception?" Also, I will probe Bryan's business approach. How does he market his art? What conflicts as artist does he experience when he wears his "business hat?" This is a particularly important point--Artist as Entrepreneur. In my close to 35 years of being actively involved in the arts, there has been this aversion to artist wanting to make money off their "art!" They say, "I am an artist first, don't bother me with that filthy lucre." I want to find out how artists are making money--survivable money.

I'm editing Christie Andresen's filming/interview. The imagery and colors in her stained glass work just jumps out of the frame. Wait to you see her work. Add her distinct passion and you cannot help to think that YOU can do it too. While I was picking up "B" roll after my interview with Christie, I overheard her talking to a client that had come into the shop. The client wanted to bring a friend, who was a stained glass artist, into the shop so she could see Christie's advanced work. Christie offered to work with the young woman and give her a free impromptu class on any technique she felt could advance the young woman's abilities. It is all I can do to keep from launching the interview now--it's not done yet, but the work looks soooooo good!

I will launch ARTing About--which will be my Art's Blogging Video Channel-- this week with the posting of Christie Andresen's interview. From that point I will run all my interviews there on a cycle so you readers can check and view my Arts Video Blog. Also, the video's will be produced on good 'ole YouTube. And I will always give you a promo-shout out here to let you know to check out the next great Emmy-award-winning interview (LOL). I have a great list of interviews set on some of the most talented artists around.

I have to run. Bryan's interview is in just two hours and I haven't had my second cup of coffee yet....

Sunday, March 11, 2012

by Robin Scott Peters

I spent my Saturday traveling through a fast moving Cape Cod blizzard heading from Falmouth to Wellfleet. I had an 11:00 am appointment to meet and interview my first artist for my Web TV show called "ARTing About." The anticipation in seeing how the Canon 550D would react under its maiden voyage was pricking at me. I bought the camera after selling my Sony PD150 DV Video Camera package. I love this video camera. I shot a couple of documentaries, a few weddings, and a music video or two with the package. It shot well in low light, was easy to carry and had lots of flexibility. It is a video camera first, but has the capability to shoot still photos. But I bought it almost a decade ago and it wasn't HD.

The last few weeks I played with the 550D. I read cover to cover its operations manual and I viewed the DVD guide that gives you 1.5 hours of practical application techniques and shooting assignments to practice. I enjoyed this aspect of the camera package as it allowed me to grab specific techniques, that I normally use, and get that result without lots of time loss. After all of this initial ramping up, I felt confident that I could go out and get some good video--using both the automatic settings and then flying more with the manual settings. Ultimately my goal is to use the camera's maximum flexibility and that is understanding how to make that camera capture what I want to see. That means understanding how to maneuver through the myriad of manual options.

So let me start with the general and work to the specific. Overall I got fantastic video. My lens: EFS 18-55mm Image Stabilizer Macro 0.25m/0.8ft. I felt for the tight space I was shooting in it allowed me to get nice establishing shots as well as tight framing around my subject's face. I used sticks, but was also running hand-held. I was indoors under florescent light. I did not use any additional lighting. It was noon and I was in a large retail antique shop. The subject had a back corner area that was approximately 30 x 20. Oh, yes, the subject: Stain Glass artists Christie Andresen and her most spectacular shop Taqwa Glassworks Studio and Gallery. And the challenge was on indeed.

The antique shop had glass windows across the storefront. Christie's store ran from the front to the back of the far side of the shop. So, 11:00 am light streamed in creating a "white out" situation if you shot into the light, which I had to because some of her works were displayed there. Christie's walls to her shop were open framed and she had all of her beautiful creations presented along every open space creating "walls of glass." A visual spectacle of magnitude.

We introduced ourselves and I began to set up. One of Christie's first comments was how she thought I was a champ trying to shoot in all this glass. Boy, by the time this was over, her words would prove absolutely correct.

Initial settings of the camera: ISO-400. But the closer I got to the front of the building and the window's the higher I had to crank the ISO 1600 plus (even after trying to adjust shutter speed and aperture) --the 550D allows you to go to 6400 but there are some technical issues that occur when you push it so read the manual carefully to understand how that effects your ultimate product. Shutter was 1/30 with F.5.6. Again, all these settings fluxed as I moved about. The 550D is broken down in modes. They have presets which are basically automatic settings that lets you shoot without thinking about having to set all the technicals to get that image you want to create. Another mode gives the photographer more control of specific elements of the camera. AV, TV, for example allow you to go into a more "manual" mode under the Aperture and Shutter functions. Under any of the modes you have either little flexibility to maximum manual flexibility. So, understanding what you can and cannot do under each function is critical.

My subject was interesting, vibrant and passionate about her work. Which certainly made my efforts easy coaxing out information. I immediately was concerned if I had enough disk space because I was capturing great stuff. I came packing with a 16gb and an 8gb chip (45mb/s). Canon suggest a high speed chip when shooting video so you don't get a "buffering" effect under playback conditions. So don't be cheap when buying your chips. I filled up both very quickly--within two hours. Now, before you go get scared about eating up lots of space, in the movie function you can adjust the pixels of your image. I wanted high quality which eats up space. I also shot in 24 frames instead of 30. I wanted to get a more cinematic look to the piece and you can definitely tell the difference which I like and will shoot in for a while before trying the 30fps. Oh, you can shoot in 60fps too. Great tool for a filmmaker interested in slowing down the shot.

Okay, so I think I covered all the basic technicals other than I didn't use my external mic as I had planned. When I got to the location, though Christie's store is large, it is tight and moving around is a careful act when you are enjoying her shop without a camera. To have a long mic and cord in hand in the shop was a recipe for disaster. I decided to let the camera's mic handle the job. This is great to be able to attach an external to the camera or go with the on board route. Though I only tested it in my home. I was a bit concerned to have to make that choice, but I have to say, that the camera's mic was impressive as you will see when you view the video.

My one issue came with the AF feature to the camera (Automatic Focus). The Canon, in its infinite wisdom, wants the operator to have maximum flexibility in determining how to use this powerful camera. The gift from Canon is giving the operator the ability to control--almost on a "dime"--the depth of focus. Critical to creating interesting images the operator must understand how to manipulate the camera's extensive means to do this. Almost too many ways to do it, when a hot shot with his new toy gets a bit turned around in this field of candy. What occurred is just what Christie had commented on when I first arrived--the difficulty of shooting glass. But now I understood what she meant. Not just glass, or colored glass, but the beveled glass--this triad of nymphs wreaked havoc on controlling the camera to focus on the spot I wanted, not what it wanted. I must say, that it was operator error. Not camera malfunction. What I should have done is cleared the camera by hitting its reset default action. This is specifically designed to help you clear the camera if your settings get wonky by your manipulation. Sort of a "Dunce-Away" approach. I knew about that setting. I just forgot about it. My mind never said "ABORT!" Part of the Canon focus apparatus (and this is really dumbed down for me, so if any Canon folk are reading I hope you won't get too insulted) is the camera is looking for contrasts so it can focus properly. The operator can also choose to move the focus in different locations (Focus on something behind something, along side, or in front). The operator can let the camera do all the work, none of the work or share in the work. What happened is the bevelling and the reflections and refracting was "Escher-Like." The camera focused on background when I wanted foreground and the like. So, sometimes when I wanted to focus on Christie and create a shallow depth of field, depending on where in the shop, what angle and the different light sources, I just couldn't get some of the shots "crystal."

When I got home and began to review the technicals recorded by the camera about your image or video, I deducted the following: In the Main menu you can adjust the focus to enable or disable Automatic Focus (AF) during the Movie Mode. It was in the disabled mode. I am not sure if that is the default or if somehow I changed it during my manipulation of the camera. If the camera in the Movie mode is not "enabled" for AF then you have to "pull focus."

I captured close to two hours of tape for a 5 minute piece. I have plenty of great clips and I look forward to cutting the piece and downloading them for everyone to view. I love this camera. It is truly sophisticated. It is a completely different animal when you use it for video then using a video camera that has true "tight" and "wide" control. The difficulty with using the Canon is capturing those typical moves. I will continue to explore and find out the best way.

Thank you Christie. Your shop is beautiful and it truly was a challenge to shoot indeed!

Friday, March 9, 2012

Now, talk about being pulled from the Gallows at the last minute. Yesterday, March 8th, 2012, my property and 36-unit condo complex was to be auctioned at 11:00 am by The Community Bank. If you have been reading, you know that I have an issue in how the bank has acted.

At 10:00 am I was jumping out of the shower dashing about readying for the moment which awaited. I was calm. After struggling these last years trying to get the bank to do what it contracted with me to do, all of the emotion has been wrung. An empty vessel cleaned of the sediment which fused in every pore of me. I was thinking, what should I wear? Put on a tie and slacks, make sure I am shaved and slicked-up--Dressing to see one's own funeral--who gets to do that in life?! I was thinking, should I take my Canon 550D and report? I know I promised. But somehow a prickly sensation was prodding me not to film the execution. I was thinking, my mom was definitely up. She is in a different time zone (literally) three hours different. Have to call her right when it is sold. Make sure she has taken the cleansing breath to push out the mounting pressure of the pain she must be feeling knowing her childhood home was about to be sold like a slave.

I had been up all night. Not tossing and turning as one would expect your last night. But I was moving. I was emptying the condo. The model. I designed the model with my great friend Larry. He is a theater designer. We worked a ton together in the 80s and 90s. So, when I took on the project and needed to design a home I called him. I said, "Larry, I need to design a condo. Lets approach it like we were designing a set for a stage play." And we did. We worked together as we have always, in concert. The ultimate design is an homage to the tag line our company proffers: "Building Homes for Generations." I was emptying, stripping, struggling with wanting to tear the whole damn place apart--if I can't have it no one can. Yet, in my head I kept hearing scripture "Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." URRRG! Piece, by piece, table, couch, chair, rug, patriots blanket, nick-knacks, all the accoutrement to make the condo invite our potential buyer to stay and never leave....packed in the back of my red Frontier. Load after load. 3:30am, 4:45am, 6:15am, 8:20am. Dark night was my help, shared with big fat shinny moon.

I picked sweat pants, black with a red stripe running down the outside of the leg and a Red Sox t-shirt, accented with a red, Red Sox hoody. Perfect. Comfort in my team logo. Shaved the mug and brushed the pearlies and was gathering my wallet, keys and the phone rang. I looked at the clock and it was 10:10 am. I recognized the number--it was a real estate broker, who just got involved in the project. He was able to bring an investor to the project. Unfortunately, but not unexpected, The Community Bank rejected the offer, like they have multiple times prior. I am beginning to wonder if there are other components driving this bus? The final objective of a real estate developer is to sell whatever property they are building. I have sold, yet they won't finance the build per our contract?
Yet, I am the one that gets foreclosed. Who the heck is writing the laws? I think we all need to pay attention to what those knuckleheads in Washington are doing. Steve, the broker, states: "the bank canceled the auction today. They rescheduled it for April 19, 2012." "Why did they do that?" "I don't know," Steve imparted. Steve and I broke into this quick discussion regarding The Community Bank's reasons. I stopped him and said, "There has been no rhyme or reason to the bank's decision making methods since I signed my loan docs in July 2008. The only thing you can count on is you can't count on their decision ever making sense." We decided to meet at the auction to see if there was some type of snafu. Hmmm, the Red Sox motif paying off.

Advertising is pretty darn effective. I found myself in the Dunkin' Donut's Drive-through ordering their new Steak & Egg breakfast sandwich. I actually like their stuff normally. I got it on an onion role with a medium coffee. I splurged and had them put sugar in it rather then my predictable sugar-substitute. Oh, man real sugar...Splendid! Pulled out of the drive-thru $5:06 lighter and headed to the site. I got there in three minutes. Just a left and a left and a straight shot down Gifford St. Love driving down Gifford. Lots of Trees, thick and lush. Huge pond just hidden 100 yards off the road. And if your inquisitive mind didn't make you stop and pull over, get out of your car and wander into the woods just a bit,you would miss the opportunity to find a most beautiful pond with miles of walking trails around it. Long Pond is a gem, and no one seems to know about it. I pulled into the condo complex and no one was there. I was still a bit early, 10:40 am. I parked in "my" space, turned on the radio. Looked for my favorite, Laura Ingram, and pulled out my Steak & Egg. I was actually eager to eat it. I was hungry of course, but the commercial caught my eye and I wanted to be led to the Steak & Egg. Still hot as I unwrapped my hopefully delicious new friend. Steamy, hot, firm...I took my first bite...small, so I could taste it fully. Taste its delicious Steak-ness. Taste its...hmmm...what is that taste? Sure ain't Steak-like. Chewying, Chewying, swallowing...??? Let me take another bite, maybe a bit bigger to get more meat. I did get a bagel and you know, lots of bread. Chomp, chew, swallow...taste? I ate it all. But, I wouldn't call it a Steak & Egg. More like Egg & Lean Meat Product. But since I hadn't eaten in over 12 hours it was super delicious.

I watched the clock in the truck glow its countdown to 11 am. Two cars drove in. One a BMW, one a Mercedes. I had seen the BMW before. They are from the auction house. I didn't know the other car. Clock glowing 10:50, 55, 56, 57,.. and then at the strike of 11:00 am a voice out of the BMW called "Auction Canceled." Tail lights white, then red, he sped off.

I stood there in the middle of the drive way. I danced. A stupid little dance. And I yelled up to the heaven's "Thank You God!" I spun around and there at the spot where the BMW had just occupied, was this man on a bike. A nice bicycle. Helmet on and the jacket he wore seemed to look just like the helmet--Geranimal-like. He waved at me and yelled if I know anything about the project. I walked over to him and told him I sure did. I was the developer. He said, "I want to buy this property from you. You interested?"

I have an open road ahead. Unfortunately there comes baggage. I thought that when you hit a crossroad in you life, (insert blues music here) when you take 360 and point your compass, there, or there or right there, that we could somehow have the baggage lost in life's terminal. Right?

Have you ever dreamed of running away? From your life as you know it? I mean, there you are across the table from your partner and you think to yourself...poof? It's not that you don't love them. Everyone has had that moment when you think about what it would be like to take off the skin of your previous existence and then have the opportunity to put on another--Edgar-like (think Men in Black the first movie).

Okay, maybe I am the only one who has thought that...right? I never did it. I actually love my life. It is crazy. It has been wonderfully exhilarating--I have reach great successes and have had great loss. The greatest of which was my 11 year old daughter's sudden and unexpected death, on New Years Eve 1999.

So, if you have been following the blog you know that in two days I will bare another grand loss. I have decided to go down with the ship. I have decide to ride the top of the bow and be pulled in by the swirled current. My Canon 550d and I will report from the scene as The Community Bank auctions three generations of family work and effort.

So I stand in the midst of a crumbled dream looking to, of course, dream some more. I have to say that my whole artistic being has been stimulated by the demise of this family company. I laugh out loud at times during the day because of the oddity of what is to occur.

I stand in the destruction and yet I am excited. Strange. I am excited to see what God brings--Never gives us more than we can bear. So many paths? Choice: the amorphous power lurking. I know one thing, my Canon 550d is coming...we are going spelunking into the depths of life. Gonna find a place to bury all that baggage and leave it where it needs to be. Gonna document the whole darn process. Then a hard right to CHOICE-Landia and DSLR the heck out of where we head from here...Go West Young Man--I am hearing-- Ping, ping, clang and flash, flippers, flying flapping at the idea crashing about. Keep it moving. Don't let it pass. Gotta ring up the points, hit the double value and cash in.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

THIS IS A REPOST. WE HAD SO MANY HITS, I WANTED TO GIVE FOLKS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR DISCOUNTS ON MY WRITTEN WORK.

As I promised, here are the coupon codes for my three works on Smashwords.com. Just add the coupon code when prompted and you can get 50% off. And the books are inexpensive. Less then a Venti Latte. And just as tasty!

Title: "From Love to Sex and Back Again."
Code: YN94R

Title: "The African Tragedian"
Code: XE69L

Title: "Multicultural Theater In Los Angeles During the Early 1990s."
Code: VL97B

Remember, Check out all the other great authors in all types of genres.

Ever find yourself around your home, catching your toe against the same darn piece of furniture? Here you are in a space you maneuver daily on automatic pilot, to then suddenly catch your toe--again-- on the same edge of a leg suspiciously waiting for you to pass barefoot? Is it our attention waning or our feet wandering just a degree off center setting us adrift toward disaster? Is the room tilted? Is the GPS updated? You adjust the chair, the path you trod and the GPS download is installed--maybe throw out the damn piece of furniture...hmmmm? Yet, once again the meeting of your toe and its arch nemesis is certain.

Lets try a different scenario...same animal different fur sort of thing.

How is it that we can walk around our life, in our world we maneuver daily, knowing where all the "Indiana Jones" pit falls linger--to find one's self looking down from a branch 20' in the air with a bamboo rope around your toe displaying you like a Christmas ornament. The mind altering altercation is alarming. Did I just step in that trap? The one I stepped in before? The one I knew was right there to the right of the road of life near where the embankment is steep and the sign in yellow reads CAUTION?

When you stub your toe, a doctor might tell you to ice and elevate. What would a doctor tell you as you hang by that same toe? More important, what will you tell yourself as you swing, blood rushing to your head and your toe looking suspiciously red, black and blue? Would you give up? Grotesquely moan lamenting your continual perpetual missteps? Wait for your captor to come and devour its exposed prey? Or would you cut off your toe to escape from your own folly? Writhe in perfect torture as you chew your toe off (this is another reason for all of us to maintain regular pedicures and sit ups).

There are times in life when you just want to hang there and let the creature(s) come eat you up and expel you in their next gastric cycle. You swing, maybe even hoping it will come quick. There at that very moment where nihilism engulfs us, that tsunami of doubt, hopelessness and fear converge; there at that moment were you are ready to succumb--think of the other nine toes. Though the one you hang from seems to be the most important thing occurring in your life at that very moment, the other nine have something to say about the situation too. They want to walk again. Even if the big guy doesn't. So, listen to the other toes. They are there for a reason. God knew what he was doing when he created the foot. Knowing the "Big Toe" was going to take a beating, and gave the foot a web of support. How much more would it then be set for us?

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dear Friends: Please take advantage of the Read an E-book Week. Smashwords has amazing works for great prices and many of the titles are on sale this week from 25%-75% off. Ebooks can be read on your computer, your phone and of course, all the Kindle-type readers available. If my work doesn't interested you there certainly is some great artists ready to impress you. Read a book and keep your computer on too...what a great way to do two great things together!!

Friday, March 2, 2012

For all you wonderful readers I am excited to announce that my play THE AFRICAN TRAGEDIAN has just been released for ebook purchase through Amazon, IPhone Epub Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions.
But wait, there is more. I just can't blog about YOU buying my stuff right, that would be rude. Okay, so in the last twenty-four hours some wonderful opportunities have materialized. Moreover I am once again reminded that there are good people who extend themselves at a time when they don't even realize how momentous their words have landed upon the landscape of your heart, mind and soul. Here is one of two stories that just happened--the other I will tell later.

Last night I went to Jake's, in Falmouth, a home-town tavern/eatery with a million 60'' flat screens and a "goodly" collection on the tap. I was hankering for some french fries, which I have been avoiding recently (remember my BP? 178/86 ugh)--and pretty well I might add--so I thought I 'd treat myself. Oh, and a Guinness as a companion of course. I walked in scoping out a seat to settle in for the Bruin's game. I zeroed in on a spot in "left field" of the bar and wove my frame past small tables and speeding waitresses. When I heard "Mr. Peters!" --whoever it was behind me was sure in their voice it was me...and it was, so I turned. There sat Mr. "A" (I don't want to use his real name here). Mr. A is a very influential individual in the town. He is involved in the lumber trade and knows everyone involved in it--including me. He called me to the table, where he and five other very jovial people sat well filled on what was the remnants of great food and warm grog.

Mr. A said to me "I am so sorry to see your project end up the way it has. You have done such a nice job there. It's a shame the damn economy took a shitter on you." "No." I said, "It wasn't the economy. It was my bank. They got an FDIC Cease and Desist Order on them and that has been the real issue."

{But I am not telling this story to bitch at The Community Bank, of Brockton,...... I am telling this story because of the next paragraph.}

Mr. A began to tell the table of satisfied and jolly participants a story about my father. Talked about what a fine man my father was. How he was an upfront business man and did great work. He said my father would be proud of me knowing the effort I went through and the job that we did. Even though it didn't work out.

Mr. A shook my hand. He grasped it so firm. There was a great message in his grip, in his lingering as I pulled away yet he held on for just that one brief moment. All night long as I drank my beer and ate my fries (I added salt--couldn't help it) I contemplated what it was that kept me thinking about his handshake. This morning I realized--that's how honest business men use to do business. A direct look in your eye, a clear understanding, and a firm confident "my word is my bond" clasp of hands

As the Ides of March approach, The Community Bank of Brockton was my Brutus.

But as Mr. A reminded me: though I may have been slain and fallen, I am not a failure. I know this...but it is good to be reminded when you most need it...pennies from heaven.

Where's my piggy bank?

If you follow me on my blog or at my LinkedIn, my Blog or my YouTube account I will send you a 50% off" Ecoupon" to use at Smashwords.com to purchase this play or any of my other works available.

Anger infesting. Internal larvae. Permeating my life strata.
Thoughts spearing. Words implode, worm holes churn, descent to the depths of being.
Wringing wet sweat. Wrestling the demons created. Omnipotent destruction awaits.
There it is. In plain view. Strangely I want it. Wish it God's speed!
I have died before, and again. Have howled in the daylight. Released the agony as a sonic wave bellowing from the very DNA-- my make up--evaporated, eviscerated.
And here again, again and now again. In your arrogance. Have you not had fill of my marrow?
Feasted enough on my aspirations? I give all to you take me in your malaise.
I am free and rip quick to the ground.
There waiting is peace?
I am standing?

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Another day my friends! There is nothing better than a cup of coffee in the morning and my blood pressure at 175/84....I know!! I appreciate your reading my blogs. I do try to bring a mixture of fun, honesty, talent (I hope humbly) and depth. Our journey: Regeneration and Transformation for Dreamers has only just begun. Though in about 2 hours I will witness the decimation of generations of family efforts. Even with this reality--not tv reality, real human tragedy reality--I find "wordplay" to be a closest friend in the journey from this point.

I post my writing in different locations because I write in different genres. I post my writing on Smashwords.com. There you will find a play, a book of poetry and my non-fiction historical narrative regarding Multicultural Theater in Los Angeles During the Early 1990s which is a 50,000 word opus! I have many works written, just waiting. No longer, no not any longer. I also write romance travel reviews. Romance travel reviews? Yes, my wife of 34 years and I travel. We don't have money...well not anymore since The Great Depression II hit in 2008. But we do manage to find great ways to spend time together when we are not 3000 miles apart. We love to take picnic baskets and wine and our camera and good music playing and slow down life to laugh, smile, hold hands and remember why we fell in love at 16 in 1978. I invite you to read those on TripAdvisor.com under my name RobinP. I will blog them here over the next few days. I hope you like them because I enjoy sharing ways for couples to enjoy themselves in easy fun inexpensive manner, but I mostly enjoy expressing how I feel about my "Conejolita." She has put up with me, my travelling.....she has a forgiving heart indeed.

So, as I "heal" and find the road to Regeneration and Transformation I choose to word my way forthwith.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Dear Friends please enjoy this Science Fiction Piece I shot as Director a few years back. I think it is apropos for today's issues with Nuclear War.Please visit Smashwords.com and look for Dr. Robin Scott Peters Ebooks now available.

This last week I have pondered. I noticed the stars in the dark clear night sky. I was transported to a time in the past when friends would wander to silent places to lay gazing above excitingly bantering about the future which seemed as open as the universe splayed before us. I wanted to write. It felt right. But I came inside and slid into the warmth of my electric blanket, gathered up my laptop and drifted off to sleep with Toshiba buzzing at my side. I love my electric blanket. My daughter's gave it to me for a Christmas present this year. They understood the gap created by my Los Angeles sensibilities intersecting with New England winters. The next day, I had another moment and then again the next day. Each time I fought against sitting down and working out the words, coaxing the phrase, pulling the focus to create. So the surging inspiration was thwarted by my inability to recognize the import of these "instincts."

I battle in my writer moments with expressing the multiplicitous plot points scripted in the macabre-- encapsulating my pulse. Filled with scenes I so desire to live out. The disappointment made greater realizing the brevity of the incarnations sent in slumber is all that is to satisfy the insatiable desire to act out.

When inevitability meets faith...I meet you again, my sworn enemy. I will not succumb to your darkness even as you swallow me whole. I stand firmly entrenched in the belief that after, after your gluttonous devouring of all that was never yours, I will stand victorious.

Today is the 24rd. 13 1/2 days and...

Put this in our bag of tricks: Victory does not come without sacrifice.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

When do you know it is time to quit? How do you determine whether something is an obstacle--or a death Nell? When you set upon a task...that is laced with passion, when you so commit and believe in what you are about to journey forth--when your whole life seems to have purposed for this singular mission--and you don't just believe it or think it or know it, but you actually set forth and do it. Sacrifice whatever it takes to fulfill this vision that has besieged you, called you siren-like.

Relinquished, defeated, decimated and destroyed...are you #$%^# kidding me! HOW! To lose is to accept less than in myself.

Jump lightly, not me. Calculated. Planned and considered perspective divined from all angles again and again, as a play on a stage, rehearsed.

Failure leads to questioning...next time? Due diligence divine: will I detect the detonated damage laying wait within my future adventures?

I speak of the "bag of tricks" that we must collect to survive this Regeneration and Transformation for Dreamers...do dreamers ever quit?

Friday, February 10, 2012

by Robin Scott Peters

Tomorrow--has taken a few days to get here. This last week I have sat in front of my post's empty "text box" waiting for the words to come. Nothing. The egg was not quite ready. It wasn't because I didn't have the words to say. It was becauseI have too many.

I want to tell you what these "vampires" have done. But I have been counseled by my legal team to be extremely careful on what I say. It could get me into trouble. So when I say "vampires" I don't say it in a pejorative manner at all! I mean who doesn't love vampires?

Friday, February 3, 2012

Yesterday I blogged about Joan Rivers. About her "No Fear" attitude. It's something we must include in our RTD (Regeneration and Transformation for Dreamers) bag of tricks. I was preparing to blog about the next RTD component when my mom called me this morning. My mom is a gregarious woman. She is in her mid-seventies (I am sure she won't mind me saying it that way) and she and I have been business partners since 1988--when I moved back home with my pregnant wife and three little kids, because I realized I needed a college education to provide for my brood.

The peach doesn't fall far from the tree...(I know, but my mom is more of a peach than an apple). Elizabeth, my mom, gets most of her personality from her mother, my grandmother, Delinda. Now, let me tell you about this woman WoW what a handful. Delinda was born in 1918. And she was a "Depression Child." Anyone who knows a person who lived through the first Depression during the 1930s (I believe we are living in the second, greater Depression now) knows that they are, how can I say it, hmmm. Frugal, yes. Frugal. Very, very frugal. And this colored everything my Grandmother did in her life. Including her ability to break rules and live life and have no fear. She would set her mind to something, and it got done. She DREAMED BIG and she accomplished bigger!

She told me two stories just prior to her death, that strengthen me so. The first was that during WWII she drove trucks. As many of you know, men were fighting and women were picking up the slack in the U.S. by performing jobs that only men were doing prior to the war. The second story, and what leads us to this very blog moment was how she purchased her first piece of land in Falmouth, Cape Cod. Her husband was away at war, in the Pacific. She working in the U.S. She found a piece of land that was in foreclosure which she wanted to buy but was unable to because she was a married woman. During that time, a married women could not purchase property without the signature of her husband. That was impossible. So, my grandmother being the quick-thinker that she was, got her brother to sign the purchase agreement--as her husband. Love that Ma! (that's what we called her Ma' Labeet). The first parcel she bought was small just a few acres. But over the next three decades she continued to buy property around the first parcel until she had amassed 12 acres. No small feat. 12 acres of prime real estate in Cape Cod. Good job Ma!

Back to peaches. If, my mom is a peach, well the image works well for me too. So, ipso facto, I am a peach. So, these three peaches, Delinda, Elizabeth and me (Robin) had many commonalities. My grandmother bought land and homes and made her "fortune." My mother did the same. And I followed suit. Three generations striving to capture the "American Dream." Swallowing fully the axiom of American Entrepreneurship. And in 2004 the convergence of three generations of hard work and sacrifice came together to test the metal of that American axiom on America's finest day: July 4.

I was in Falmouth assisting my mother after the death of my father, Ernest. A soft hearted man, with the most beautiful hazel eyes. I know why my mother fell for him. Handsome in his Army uniform for sure. We were picnicking at my grandmothers. Like we had done many years earlier. I was giddy--truly--as I hadn't been back on the Cape for almost 20 years. The BBQ was a blast and lasted well into the early morning hours. We sat in my grandmother's living room. Pictures on the wall that had been there from my earliest youth. Her home was like a museum, everything the same. I was in the 1960s again! Sipping wine, my grandmother left the room and returned with a bag. In it she retrieved these colorful pamphlets, they looked brand new. Until you read them. They were new home brochures...from the 1950s!!? I asked, "why?" Ma' Labeet said, "I always wanted to build a community here on my land. That's why." "Well, why didn't you?" She said, "Your grandfather was too afraid." There is that word again, Fear.

By the time the sun rose on July 5, 2004 the three fearless 'peaches' had reached an agreement to turn the 12 acres and 50 years of patience into a place where families could sink deep roots for generations. Just as my grandmother and grandfather had done for us. It was a great plan. My grandmother would sell the land to our newly created company. She gave us a deal--$1,000,000.00 for the land. In turn my mother and I would match Delinda's investment with cash to cover the hard and soft costs of construction--approximately the same amouth as Delinda's investment. In the decades and decades that my grandmother, mother and I have done business in real estate we never brokered a deal where we lost our investment capital. Until now. Until a bank, from the community, stole it from us.

I have to stop here. Because here is where the fear is. Here is where the Dreams of the Dreamers are being crushed. Here is were regeneration and transformation was perverted, forced by deceit; a meatgrinder of lives--past, present and future mangled. Here is where three generations of a family teeter on disaster from blood suckers in gray suits with dead 'fish' eyes. 29 1/2 days from today. Before I finish this tale, I have to decide can I voice the fear. I know I must -- to have victory. Take it from its muffled screams and pepper this text box with its darkness.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

I saw Joan Rivers this morning on tv. They were advertising her new show. She was in a car, with a girl friend of hers, smoking medical marijuana....I remember Ms. Rivers when I was a child. She was funny then. I think she still is. Can't she get in trouble? Does she have her medical marijuana card? And why were they doing it in a car? It wasn't moving, so I guess that isn't against the law...somewhere, who knows? You are probably wondering, what the heck does this have to do with Regeneration and Transformation for Dreamers? That would be a good question to ask. I have been asking it all day. I mean , why am I pondering the existence of Joan Rivers' marijuana use. I don't remember her smoking marijuana though, when I was younger that is. Do you? For some reason it hit me as being a bit odd--even for Joan Rivers. So all day as I wrote my book, and applied for a few jobs, this vision of Joan hitting the ganja has infiltrated my thoughts. Typing, typing, typing and then all of a sudden I am finding myself contemplating Joan Rivers. I had another topic I was going to write about today, but for whatever reason Joan kept poking at me. And I think I know why now.

If there is one thing a person could say about Joan Rivers is that she never gave a damn about what other people thought about her. At least thats the way I have seen her. All her crazy comedy. Crazy life. She was the "what the Hell" girl. If I could ask Joan a question (and if anyone out there reading this knows Joan--please ask her) has Joan's whatever attittude ever failed her? I would love to hear a story from Joan about how she bombed. Whether on stage or in film or tv, I need to know Joan. Have you bombed? I mean, really stunk up the placed bombed? The--I have to go hide until the next lunar eclipse, type of bomb? Okay, now you must be really confused. Let me put it all together for you in the next paragraph.

Joan smoked weed. On tv. In a car. I am thinking that is a bit risky. Do you agree? Yet she did it. Pushed the proverbial "envelope" again. Was she scared? Did she worry what people would think? Worse, what they would do? I am sure she did. And if not, one of her Posse certainly must have voiced a small concern. Yet, somewhere in Joan's soul she said...ahh, &^%&$ I am going for the laugh. Get the big thrill. Joan is "throwing down!" Now some of you may see her act as childish, or illegal or stupid and inconsequential. And there is good logic to support your argument. But, what Joan did is something that needs to go into the bag of tricks I am collecting to assist in the Regeneration and Transformation. Standup comedy, arguably, has to be the most difficult of the performing arts. The immediacy and intensity of failure is immense. Not for Joan. I wonder if there should be an eleventh commandment "Though Shall Not Fear Failure!"

If anyone knows a gravestone engraver contact me. I need something scratched on my tablets to put in my bag of tricks.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Did you see the sky last night? Stars everywhere. Pin pricks in the open blue vastness. These beams of light. I see them these shafts streaming downward upon me. Last night, for a brief moment, I looked up. And the spread of possibilities, lay before liquid eyes. I could be that star, or that one. Or the toe nail moon that stole the show amongst the cacophony of his competitors shining brightly, hovering vibrating above me. One would think at that moment insignificance would rage, over take the senses and quivering mass melting in to the ground leaving a shadow-puddle capturing the image of you, what use to be you. Rather, I was bathed. The stars above companion's with midnight blue -- accepted me. Like electric blankets used on a cold New England winter night, I dipped my toes into the warmth--A mothers hug, a long-waited reunion, the safety of honest love.

It was brief. But I captured it. Sent from the inverse of the galaxies. It was brief. But I captured it. You know it, I won't speak it.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Fellow Dreamers:
Don't let the plain font and white background fool you. It is the canvas where this blog will take shape-- present itself as the words I write begin to pepper this text box, this window to the Internet, to everywhere, everyone. Power behind black and white words stripped clean of "stylization." Let the words speak. They have their individual purpose and power. So, I will trust.
I want to start off with what I believe is the essence of me. Which is now being tested to the core. Life is raw and cruel in its most wretched times and conversely and ironically Life is plentiful and inviting at the same exact moments. This is not the "life is half full, half empty" cliche'. There are moments in Life where your Life is in complete utter ruin. No denying it. Standing, feeling the 360 degree crush of evaporation. Take this ruin deeper? Yes. By allowing the dust to settle and see it for what it really is. Now there is a sight to see for sure. When grandiose efforts meet utter failure. And that is the crux of where I am right now.
I need to tell this ugly ugly story. Need to see if treachery has its final say? I never thought I would be susceptible to nihilistic thoughts. Anyone close to me would tell you-- my dear new friend--impossible, impossible for any amount of doubt to enter in this mind, heart, matter. Somehow, I do feel different. No, I am different. I have been robbed. No. I have been molested by a vampire and my essence, the essential of essentials siphoned away.
Who am I? How am I here? My future is? Who took my bag of tools?

About Me

I am the Dreamer. The Brainstorm-er. The Writer. The Critic. The Singer. The Actor. The Director. The Researcher. The Photographer. The Filmmaker. I want to work with you. I want to tell your story. If you like what you see among the Photo and Film Albums please reach out and let us begin the journey by talking about "YOUR dream.".